Obama röker, McCain har melanom

På sistone har många bloggare funderat över trenden att medborgarnas privatliv blir alltmer transparent för staten, medan staten och politikerna blir allt mindre transparenta för medborgarna.

I det sammanhanget är den här ledaren från New York Times lite intressant:

At a time when the presidential candidates are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to flood the airwaves with information about themselves and their positions, it is disturbing that they have provided only limited information about their health.

Uhm, say what? Deras hälsa? Jo, tydligen är det oroande att Barack Obama bara har publicerat ett läkarintyg om att han är vid god hälsa, och att även om John McCain lät utvalda journalister studera 1200 sidor medicinsk dokumentation (1200 sidor?!) om hans hälsa, så fick de inte kopiera nånting av informationen.

Ja, jo, kandidaternas hälsostatus är väl kanske inte exakt irrelevant, men börjar inte det här bli lite Gattaca-mässigt?

Decisions, decisions

Jag började just bli orolig, men nu kom mina poströstsedlar för de federala valen i USA.

Det är alltid intressant (för något värde på "intressant") att se andra länders byråkrati, tycker jag. Så här ser instruktionerna ut (kolla legitimationsbestämmelserna!):

To ensure your vote(s) are counted, it is important that you follow all of the voting instructions shown on your ballot. After you have marked all your voting choices, reviewed your ballot to ensure there are no stray marks, and completed voting:

• Place your ballot in page number order if it is more than one page.
• Refold your ballot exactly as it was received.
• Place your voted ballot in the secrecy sleeve (not required).
• Ensure your name appears on your official return envelope.
• Place the secrecy sleeve containing your voted ballot into the official return envelope. Only one voter's ballot is permitted in your official return envelope. Your ballots will not be counted if more than one ballot is placed in your official return envelope.
• If you are required to provide a photocopy of an acceptable form of identification (see below), place the photocopy in your official return envelope. Do not place your ID photocopy in the secrecy sleeve with your voted ballot.
• Sign and date the affidavit of voter on the backside of your official return envelope; refer to the example below.

If you are a first time voter who registered to vote in the State of Colorado by mail and your mail-in ballot packet contains a purple ID Required slip, you must enclose a photocopy of an acceptable form of your identification in your official return envelope. Failure to provide ID will result in your ballot being treated as a provisional ballot. A photocopy of one of the following forms of ID is acceptable:

• A valid Colorado driver's license
• A valid identification card issued by the department of revenue
• A valid United States passport
• A valid employee identification card with a photograph of the eligible elector issued by any branch, department, agency, or entity of the United States government or of this state, or by any county, municipality, board, authority, or other political subdivision of this state
• A valid pilot's license issued by the federal aviation administration of other authorized agency of the United States
• A valid United Stated military identification card with a photograph of the eligible elector
• A copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows the name and address of the elector
• A valid Medicare or Medicaid card issued by the Unites States health care financing administration
• A certified copy of a birth certificate for the elector issued in the United States
• Certified documentation of naturalization
• A valid student identification card with a photograph issued by an institution of higher education in Colorado

Any form of ID that shows the address of the eligible elector shall only be considered ID if the address is in the State of Colorado. Please see SOS Rule 30.1.6 for additional information regarding acceptable forms of ID.

Phew. Och det är ju inte som om man bara har två alternativ att välja mellan. Så här ser den fullständiga kandidatlistan ut:

• John McCain/Sarah Palin - Republican
• Barack Obama/Joe Biden - Democratic
• Chuck Baldwin/Darrell L. Castle - Constitution
• Bob Barr/Wayne A. Root - Libertarian
• Cynthia McKinney/Rosa A. Clemente - Green
• Jonathan E. Allen/Jeffrey D. Stath - HeartQuake '08
• Gene C. Amondson/Leroy J. Pletten - Prohibition
• James Harris/Alyson Kennedy - Socialist Workers
• Charles Jay/Dan Sallis, Jr. - Boston Tea
• Alan Keyes/Brian Rohrbough - America's Independent
• Gloria La Riva/Robert Moses - Socialism and Liberation
• Bradford Lyttle/Abraham Bassford - U.S. Pacifist
• Frank Edward McEnulty/David Mangan - Unaffiliated
• Brian Moore/Stewart A. Alexander - Socialist, USA
• Ralph Nader/Matt Gonzalez - Unaffiliated
• Thomas Robert Stevens/Alden Link - Objectivist

Om man skulle rösta på Libertarians, bara för att få en Root som vicepresident?

I am the man, I have the vote

Hos Charlotte hittade jag ett intressant citat från LA Times:

Palin's value to those patriarchs is clear: She opposes just about every issue that women support by a majority or plurality. She believes that creationism should be taught in public schools but disbelieves global warming; she opposes gun control but supports government control of women's wombs; she opposes stem cell research but approves "abstinence-only" programs, which increase unwanted births, sexually transmitted diseases and abortions; she tried to use taxpayers' millions for a state program to shoot wolves from the air but didn't spend enough money to fix a state school system with the lowest high-school graduation rate in the nation; she runs with a candidate who opposes the Fair Pay Act but supports $500 million in subsidies for a natural gas pipeline across Alaska; she supports drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve, though even McCain has opted for the lesser evil of offshore drilling. She is Phyllis Schlafly, only younger.

Det fick mig att återigen bita ihop och ge mig ut i snårskogen som det innebär att registrera sig för att rösta. (Fast om det där är kvinnofrågor så måste jag väl som man rösta på Palin?)

Jag hittade tre olika varianter på registreringsblanketter via voteboulder.org, och upptäckte till min glädje att man numera kan scanna sina blanketter och skicka in dem via e-post. Jag fyllde i den minst avskräckande blanketten (Första kryssrutan: Are you a citizen of the United States? YES/NO If you checked "NO" to this question, DO NOT COMPLETE THIS FORM.), men just som jag skulle lägga den i scannern hittade jag en särskild uppsättning regler för overseas voters. De får bara e-posta om de är militärer. Darn.

Jag hör folk klaga på svensk byråkrati ibland, men den har ett och annat att lära av den amerikanska.